Like this:

Over the last few days I have felt that wonderful feeling of relief that comes from a big project finally coming to a close. Can I get an ‘amen’?

This circular boho vest makes me think of dancing in circles in the woods as the breeze whispers through the trees. It’s the feeling of peace and freedom. The hippie chick in me is happy. I love it. (To say that I am proud of this pattern is an understatement.)

The recent popularity of bohemian style, mandalas and the fact that fall is around the corner inspired the design of this pattern.

It is wearable and stylish, light and airy. You can wear this with a nice dress or with your t-shirt and jeans (like I did in the photos.) You can use a shawl pin to hold the front together as you wear it or make ties like in the above photos which I have included instructions for.

Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable is the yarn I use for these boho vests. They have a nice variety of color gradients and as well as variegated color schemes. It is a soft and beautiful single ply yarn. It says on the yarn label that it is worsted weight yarn although it is a bit thinner than most worsted yarns.

Size: I have instructions for 2 ladie’s sizes, small-large and XL. I have figured the numbers for those 2 sizes but it can easily be adjusted to other custom sizes which is explained in the pattern.

Visit one of the links above for more details on the pattern itself including the materials list.

Finished vests: I have 4 of these (soon to be 5) that I have made during the design process and will be listing them for sale on etsy as time permits. The 2 samples in the photos you see in this post will be among them. All 5 are different colorways.

Like this:

{Hey there, y’all. I haven’t been around much lately. I am just letting you know I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I do have a few things to let you know about. So here goes…….}

Oh my word I have been so busy lately. I have been working feverishly to finish these 2 patterns so I could have them ready to release like 2 weeks ago. Oops! That didn’t happen.

Both are in the testing phase now and pro photos have been taken.

(In my own defense though I do have 5 children under age 12 and I homeschool them. Life happens and I tend to set goals that are just this side of unrealistic for myself sometimes.)

Sorry, I can’t share those with you just yet. I will, however, have them by the end of the week and will let you have a look. I am very excited about one of these patterns. It’s gorgeous and so simple yet it looks like something more difficult. It is way cool, just wait.

The other was a request by my 3 year old daughter for her 4th birthday (August 10th). That’s all I will say for now. Ha!

Something new (ongoing discount):

I have set my ravelry shop to automatically take 20% off of your total purchase when you add 3 or more patterns to your cart. So the more you buy the more you save. Nice deal, right? This deal is here to stay and is only on ravelry.com. No coupon code is needed discount is automatic when you add 3 or more patterns to your cart.

Coonskin Cap pattern: If you have this pattern in your ravelry library or etsy account and have not downloaded yet you may want to do that if you like it the way it is. I will be revamping that pattern soon with a completely different yarn. I found the perfect yarn at Hobby Lobby sometime back at a special request from a customer and it made such a great raccoon hat that I have decided that I will redo the old pattern with this yarn. The same stitch counts won’t work with this other yarn so it will be a complete overhaul. All previous customers who still have it in their online ravelry/etsy libraries will get the update. I still have a few things to do before I get to that. I just wanted to give plenty of warning. This is one of my older patterns. I have much more experience with designing, writing and photography than I had when I published this pattern so it’s time to update. Just look how cheesy this photo is taken on my husband’s flat-bed trailer. I thought the weathered wood made a good back drop. Ha! I have learned so much in the last 5 years.

That’s about all I’ve got at the moment. Stay tuned as I will be back later this week to show you some pics of the photo shoot my fabulous photographer sister and I did this past weekend. Hailey of HDL Photography is a fabulous photographer, and I’m not just saying that because she is related to me. She really is good at what she does.

I will sign off for now. May your day be filled with love and blessings.

Like this:

This is my work space. (Knitting and crocheting for a living has it perks.)Looks nice and cozy….and clean huh?

Now let’s see what is BEHIND my chair…….

There’s is a party happening back there where no one can see and only I am brave enough to go. It looks messy but there is a method to this madness.

Uh oh! Some bits of projects have leaked out onto the counter of the hutch……

In these photos are 7 unfinished projects. Two of which are new designs I am working on for you. I can’t say when these 2 patterns will finally be done and ready to publish. I was hoping July 1 but that ain’t happening.

So that’s a glimpse at the inner workings of Longhorn Prairie. Keeping it short and sweet today. I could write a really long blog post but I would rather knit. haha.

You can find me sitting in that chair working on the Textured Laguna Wrap pattern by Chandi Agee (Expression Fiber Arts) for the rest of the day. (Taking a break from pattern writing / testing for the day.)

Like this:

So I started a new blog. I guess a good first post should be about myself. I am April Hubbard, the designer behind Longhorn Prairie. I am a total yarnie and fiber nut. I spin and dye yarn sometimes. I could spend 24 hours a day knitting and crocheting if I didn’t have to stop and do other things…like eating, sleeping and taking care of my 5 children. Yes, I have 5. All are ages 11 down to 13 months. I am 37 and started teaching myself to crochet and knit when I was 21.

Longhorn Prairie fiber arts has been rolling along now for 5 years. So I have been around a while. I am not a techie so I had a hard time making a website work. I do have a blog at blogger but dang it if I can’t get into that account anymore. They say none of the info I provide matches the account. hmmm…. Ok. So here I am at a different site with a new blog. I have learned some things and can do it now. Ha! A little education can go a long way.

So I design knit and crochet patterns. As of today I have 41 patterns available online on 3 different sites: ravelry.com, craftsy.com & etsy.com. Oh yeah, and you can find finished items made by yours truly in the etsy shop. Just click that etsy link above.

Email newsletter: I will have a newsletter up and running soon so you can keep up with what Longhorn Prairie is up to. Don’t worry I will only email once in a while. Maybe once a week at the most. I am brainstorming with how I would like to start maybe a weekly sale or something like that.

Ok, I will keep this short. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself, again. I am always available for questions or whatever else you want to talk about. I actually use my personal email for keeping in touch with all of you. I am always on top of my emails so don’t hesitate if you need to email me for something. I will respond pretty quickly.

Have an awesome day!

April

p.s. I will leave you with a cute picture of my sweet Jesse. He is the baby of the family and is a good little model. (modeling a pompom slouchy by Longhorn Prairie)